Since becoming a sleep consultant, one thing I commonly get asked is what to expect from a sleep plan. Working with different clients, I’ve noticed that everyone tends to have different expectations in regards to what exactly will be delivered and how it will work. Here is a brief summary of what you can expect:

The Tools: You can rely on the fact that I will provide you with all of the tools you need to sleep train your baby. What do I mean by tools? I mean that I will give you a few sleep training methods from which you can choose. These methods will be selected by me as the best methods that fit with the temperament of your child as well as your parenting philosophy. I’ll give you a schedule to follow during the day. This schedule will ensure that your child is given the opportunity to take in enough food, get enough sleep, and is able to have enough activity time throughout the day. You’ll have information on weaning for when you are ready, what to do when you travel, what happens if something isn’t working, and what to do if your child uses a pacifier or is a co-sleeper. Our sleep plans cover every scenario you would likely encounter and we tell you explicitly how to work your way through that scenario. We give you every tool to make sure that you’re set up for success.

Time: Clients often ask how long it will take for sleep plans to work. The answer: it depends. It actually depends on several factors. Each baby is different and some babies will respond faster to sleep plans than other babies. There is no time specific table, but there is a general window of time for when most families should start seeing the benefits or our sleep plans. As parents, you have the ultimate say on how fast or slow we approach sleep training because we want you to be comfortable and confident in everything we do.

Technique: AKA: sleep training methods. I recently had someone ask me if we will force her to make her baby cry. The answer is NO! Cry It Out often comes to mind when the term sleep training comes up in conversation. This is a method that is used, but it is certainly not the only method out there. Our sleep training methods are as gentle as they need to be depending upon your child and your parenting philosophies.

There Will Be Some Crying: As I mentioned above, we use the sleep training methods which fit best with your child and your parenting style. We can also use as gentle of a method as needed. However, this does not mean that there won’t be crying. Remember that any time a baby is exposed to something new like being in their crib or in their own room, not being rocked to sleep for hours, not being nursed to sleep for every single wake up - this is a different routine for the baby. It is not what they are used to or what they’ve come to expect. A very normal response to this is crying. So sleep training does not mean that there will be no crying at all. As a matter of fact, you should expect some amount of crying through the process.

It’s Hard Work & Commitment: Once you get the sleep plan we’ve created, the hard part really begins. First, you’ll need to commit to reading through and making sure you have a full understanding of it. Then, you’ll need to mentally prepare and have a plan for when you want to start and how you will use the tips and tools we’ve given you. It’s a lot of work and it is hard. Following a sleep plan will take commitment. We may be asking you to somewhat change your typical days so that your baby can get on a more consistent and predictable schedule. This could mean big changes for you and your whole family. You’ll need to keep in mind how hard it’s been to wake up all night with your baby because once the hard work of sleep training is finished…those sleepless nights will be a faded memory (eventually)! The success of the sleep plan depends on how closely it is followed, as well as open and honest feedback and correspondence between us and our clients. This way we can continue to give input and tweak things as needed.

I hope this has given you some insight on what you can expect from working with a sleep consultant from The Cradle Coach. We will be there every step of the way to guide and coach you. Your success is our success and we want to celebrate with you once sleep training is complete. Please let us know how we can help you. Click here for more details or email me.

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The Cradle Coach, LLC does not offer medical advice, services, or treatment to its clients. If you are concerned about a medical issue related to your child we urge you to contact your doctor or pediatrician immediately.